Written questions by Dillon.

Whether her Department plans to increase school funding to expand the provision of free school meals.

The department spends around £1.5 billion annually on free lunches for 2.1 million school pupils under benefits-based free school meals, over 90,000 disadvantaged students in further education, and around 1.3 million infants under universal infant free school meals. In addition to this, eligibility for free meals drives billions of additional pounds in disadvantage funding.Schools have autonomy to allocate their budgets to comply with their duty to provide free meals in line with nutritional guidance set out in the school food standards.As with all government programmes, including free school meals, we keep our approach under continued review.

What steps his Department is taking to help ensure that all schools within a local authority accept children with Education, Health and Care Plans.

The Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on schools named by a local authority on an education, health and care plan to admit a child. The local authority must have consulted with the school and carefully considered any views expressed before naming it on a plan. This duty to admit applies to maintained schools, academies, non-maintained special schools and independent schools approved for these purposes by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, under section 41 of the Act.This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. We are committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, and ensuring special schools cater to children and young people with the most complex needs, restoring parents’ trust that their child will get the support they need.The department is working closely with experts on reforms, recently appointing a Strategic Advisor for SEND, who will play a key role in convening and engaging with the sector, including leaders, practitioners, children and families as we consider the next steps for the future of SEND reform.

What steps she is taking to help ensure that primary schools can fund their SEND provision without reallocating funding from other budget areas.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. Following the Autumn Budget 2024, the department is providing an additional £3.2 billion for mainstream schools and young people with complex SEND for the 2025/26 financial year. This means that overall school funding will total almost £64.8 billion in 2025/26. Most schools funding is not allocated and ring-fenced for specific purposes, such as for supporting pupils with SEND. Schools decide how to spend their budgets to meet their legal duties and other responsibilities, including support for their pupils with SEND. Of the increase in total schools funding, £1 billion will be for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND to over £12 billion. Of that total, West Berkshire Council is being allocated over £30 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £1.8 million on this year’s DSG high needs block. High needs funding is allocated by local authorities to primary schools for the costs of special educational needs support in excess of £6,000 per pupil per annum.

When she plans to publish the draft guidance for gender questioning children in schools.

The department is currently reviewing the draft non-statutory guidance for schools and colleges on gender questioning children, in addition to reviewing the statutory guidance on relationships, sex and health education.​My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has been clear that children’s wellbeing must be at the heart of this guidance and, as such, the government is looking carefully at the consultation responses, discussing with stakeholders and considering the relevant evidence, including the final report of the Cass Review which was published post-consultation, before setting out next steps.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing funding to ensure that the Lifelong Links programme can be extended to all children in care.

The department is committed to helping children thrive and wants the best for every child and family. We know that a stable support network and loving relationships are crucial to supporting children in care and care leavers to thrive.To support this, the...

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that education, health and care plan assessments are (a) progressed and (b) issued promptly.

I refer the hon. Member for Newbury to the answer of 26 November to Question 14834.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of increasing the pupil premium for (a) primary and (b) secondary schools.

Every child, regardless of background, deserves the opportunity to progress and succeed in school and beyond. This government is committed to breaking the link between young people’s backgrounds and their future success. That is why removing barriers to o...

With reference to the report entitled Budget 2024 Briefing, published by Tech First in October 2024, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of levels of child poverty on resource allocation in sch

The schools national funding formula (NFF) targets funding to schools which have pupils with additional needs. In the 2024/25 financial year, over £4.4 billion (10.2%) of the formula is allocated according to deprivation factors in the NFF, including free...

What steps she is taking to ensure that teachers have the (a) classroom support and (b) equipment needed to support pupils with SEND.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.High quality teach...

Whether she plans to take steps to make the education, health and care plan application process more efficient.

For too long the education system has not met the needs of all children, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), with parents struggling to get their children the support they need and deserve. This government’s ambition...

Whether her Department plans to reform the SEND system.

For too long the education system has not met the needs of all children, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), with parents struggling to get their children the support they need and deserve. This government’s ambition...

What steps she plans to take to financially support the early years sector to deliver the expanded 30-hour offer.

The new childcare entitlements for eligible working parents of children aged from nine months will increase from 15 hours to 30 hours from September 2025, helping hundreds of thousands of families with the cost of childcare and supporting parents to work....